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Author Notes: I made up this recipe a few weeks ago after an afternoon making Meyer Lemon curd (one of my favorite foods in the world.) I would be perfectly happy to eat this lemon curd with a spoon, but spooning it into the cinnamon-y goodness of a crust made from crushed speculoos made it heaven-sent. And the little bit of bittersweet chocolate? That elevated it to naughty. I served it at one of my classes - to avoid eating the entire thing myself - and the students went wild. —MrsWheelbarrow

Serves 8

Speculoos Crust

30 speculoos cookies, crushed (about 2 cups)

2ounces melted butter

Meyer Lemon Curd & Pie Filling

3 egg yolks, room temperature

3 whole eggs, room temperature

1/2cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice

1tablespoon Meyer lemon zest

3/4cup granulated sugar

3tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

1/4teaspoon almond extract

1/2cup heavy cream

4ounces bittersweet chocolate, best quality

Bittersweet Chocolate or Candied Meyer Lemon Rind to garnish

Stir the melted butter into the crushed speculoos. Press the crumb crust into a tart pan with removable bottom. Refrigerate for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Bake the tart shell for 15 minutes, until it feels dry to the touch. Remove to a rack and cool completely.

Make the lemon curd. In a large double boiler or a bowl over simmering water, beat together the eggs, sugar and lemon juice. Heat gently, stirring all the while, to 170° - it will be all foamy.

Remove the curd from the heat and beat in the butter, piece by piece. The curd will thicken and get all smooth and silky. Stir in the extract and the zest. Set aside to cool. (Go ahead, lick the spoon. It's so good.)

Beat the cream until stiff peaks form.

Melt the bittersweet chocolate. Pour over the tart base, then spread from edge to edge in a thin layer. Refrigerate for an hour.

Assemble the tart. Fold the whipped cream into the lemon curd. With a flexible spatula, fill the tart shell with the lemon mixture. Smooth the top.

Decorate with finely chopped candied Meyer lemon rind or shaved chocolate curls. Serve as soon as possible. After four hours, the filling will start to weep. It will taste just as good, but won't be as pretty.

Um... wow. Just wow. I fell madly in love with speculaas cookies and speculoos spread in Amsterdam and Belgium, and it looks like you've taken it to a whole new level. This WILL be at my Easter dinner!